


Telling

by neapeaikea



Category: The Eagle | The Eagle of the Ninth (2011)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, COVID-19 References, Christmas Party, Established Relationship, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28199025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neapeaikea/pseuds/neapeaikea
Summary: It's finally time for Marcus to introduce Esca to his colleagues.
Relationships: Marcus Flavius Aquila/Esca Mac Cunoval
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	Telling

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! After having read almost all _The Eagle_ -fiction I could find in the past 4-5 years, I decided it was finally time to dip my toe in the writing pool, and add some fic to this wonderful pairing and fandom! It's been a fond favorite of mine for a long time, Esca and Marcus' chemistry is so enticing and heart-warming. I've been quite hesitant to write them as I feel I won't get their personalities right, but I'm trying to challenge myself as a writer lately, and trying a whole new pairing was fun! 
> 
> I wish I had something more intriguing for you plot-wise, but 'tis the season so you're getting an office xmas party set in a few years when such parties will be back in force. There are a few references to the pandemic and working from home, because I've come to appreciate our fantasy characters going through the same shit we do, it's oddly comforting knowing they're in this with us.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy! Feedback is lovingly drooled on.

“We don’t have to do this.” Esca said, flexing his fingers in Marcus’ death grip.

“Hmm.” Marcus stared straight ahead.

“It’s alright. I won’t be mad.”

Marcus tightened his grip so that Esca’s fingers actually whitened.

“You’re crushing my hand.”

“Hmm?” Marcus glanced over and after a moment’s confusion let go of Esca’s hand. “Sorry, I’m just…”

“Nervous?” Esca said when Marcus didn’t finish his thought. He tried to give his partner a comforting smile. “I know that you want to do this, and I’d love to meet your colleagues, but if it makes you this nervous, if you’re not ready yet, then we really don’t have to do this. We can wait, or we can do it never. The people that matter know about you, about us. That’s enough.”

Marcus sighed, leaning against the back wall of the elevator taking them up to the top floor of the skyscraper Marcus’ company had its offices in. It was the annual Christmas party, well, the first one for a few years now that the pandemic was finally under control and people were comfortable gathering in larger crowds.

“I said I was gonna do it in 2020, but that year just…” Marcus whistled and gestured with a hand down to the floor. “Then I figured I’d do it whenever but with working from home, no one actually wanted to chit-chat all that much and I kept chickening out.”

Esca listened patiently, wondering if they’d be ready to step out once the elevator reached its destination. They were lucky to be in it alone. “Your bosses know you’re gay.”

“Yeah, but my colleagues don’t, and I’ve been here since ’19. It’s time I told them, and time they met you.” Marcus looked up, and gave Esca a fragile smile, “My great boyfriend that I want to show off.”

“Charmer. Look, you know I’ll support you no matter what. I’d quite like to meet them as your boyfriend, but you’ve been antsy for days. If, for whatever reason, this isn’t the time you tell them, I won’t be mad.” Esca looked up at the digital display above the elevator doors. “Just a couple of floors left.”

Squaring his shoulders, Marcus took Esca’s hand, though his grip was much gentler this time. “Fuck.”

Esca laughed, following half a step behind Marcus when doors finally opened and they were let out of the elevator. They entered into a large hall, with a manned cloakroom to the side. Marcus walked them there first, being a gentleman and helping Esca off with his coat. They were both wearing holiday appropriate shirts, though nothing as silly as ugly Christmas sweaters as Marcus’ firm was quite stuffy.

“Marcus!”

Both men turned to look at the woman approaching them, Esca glancing at Marcus for a cue but receiving none.

“Hello, Paola.” Marcus greeted the woman with an air kiss near her cheek and a hand on her arm, Paola doing the same to him.

Esca raised an eyebrow, he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Marcus hug, let alone kiss, anyone hello. But then, he hadn’t seen him interact with any colleagues.

“Marcus, you’re so rude to be late and make me wait with all these boring suits.” Paola admonished, her words a tad slurred, insinuating that she’d had more than one drink. She had an accent that Esca couldn’t place, but he was certain she was a fellow European. She turned to Esca, looking far too happy, “And who is this?”

“This is Esca.” Marcus said. “My partner.”

Esca and Paola both looked at Marcus in surprise. Marcus gave Esca a tentative smile and held out his hand. Esca grabbed it with lightning speed, stepping forward to close the small gap between them.

“Hi,” Esca held out his other hand, “nice to meet you.”

“And so nice to meet you!” Paola said excitedly. “Wow, partner, huh? You kept that quiet.”

“Yeah,” Marcus shuffled awkwardly, “I meant to tell, but things just… And with this crowd…”

Paola put a hand on Marcus’ arm, something Esca noted but chose to deem as inconsequential. “Oh honey… I don’t think anyone will react badly, not to your face anyway. Wait, does that mean I’m the first to know? Oh wow, that’s so great, you know I’ll talk shoes even more with you now that you’re gay.”

“I’ve been gay the whole time.” Marcus mumbled, “Still won’t have anything to say about shoes. And Barry and the others upstairs know. They haven’t met Esca, though, so that’s a first?”

“Yay, I’m so honored!” Paola clapped her hands, not bothered about the champagne flute in one of them.

Esca and Marcus shared an amused look at Paola’s excited reaction.

“Marcus is known as a private guy, he hardly ever shares.” Paola said to Esca. “Wait, do you live together? Marcus! You mean all this time you’ve been on Zoom from home, you’ve been hiding him? That’s not fair! We’ve seen almost every room at everyone’s homes, I can’t believe you’ve managed to hide this.”

Marcus shrugged, turning to aim his reply at Esca too, “I’ve not hidden it on purpose. I just really like keeping my work to my office. It makes it easier to keep it separate from simply being at home.”

“Meanwhile I’ve been stuck doing video conferences in the kitchen.” Esca chimed in, an exaggeration that he and Marcus had fought over a couple of times in the last year.

“Not true.” Marcus muttered under his breath. “Should we get some drinks?”

“Absolutely.” Paola said, turning so quickly she wobbled for a moment in her heels.

With no other choice, Esca and Marcus followed her.

It turned out that most of Marcus’ colleagues had similar reactions, wondering how Marcus could keep a live-in boyfriend a secret when they were all working from home, and spouses, kids and pets always turned up in one way or another on their video feeds. Some couldn’t hide their surprise at finding out Marcus was gay, while others kept reiterating how great it was and that gay people were just like everyone else, meaning straight people. However plump and awkward that reaction was, it sure beat the ones that clammed up and hurried off, but thankfully that was just one or two.

The funniest conversation was with a woman who was there with her wife. Marcus had apparently completely missed that Mira was gay, and he was even more surprised when she mentioned the other three non-straight people working at the firm, including DeVonne in accounting.

“I’ve always told you your gaydar is shite!” Esca laughed, leaning conspiringly towards Mira, “He didn’t clock me ‘til I had my tongue down his throat.”

“Esca!” Marcus exclaimed, sounding almost scandalized.

Marcus loosened up some eventually, thanks to most people being welcoming to Esca and asking polite questions about their relationship. Marcus still wasn’t much of a sharer, despite wanting to be open about his partner, and Esca ended up doing most of the heavy lifting. His British accent was a huge hit, and he fielded a number of questions about how he’d come to live in the States, what part of Britain he was from and British Christmas traditions. While he understood that most were simply curious and grateful to have something else to talk about than Marcus’ sexuality, he ended the conversations quickly when people brought up the royal family.

“It’s not like I care about them, let alone know them.” Esca complained under his breath, as he and Marcus were taking a break in the corner, looking out of the large windows at the city below them.

“Yet you know a surprising amount about them. The Queen winters at Sandringham House, you say?”

Esca rolled his eyes, “Everyone knows that, piss off.”

Marcus hid his amused smile by raising his glass, drinking beer rather than the abominable Christmas drink the bartender had first offered them. Esca glanced behind them, noting guests talking loudly at tables covered in red table cloths and wintery floral arrangements, or shuffling awkwardly on the makeshift dancefloor. A few were off on their own, like Marcus and Esca, taking in the view. The DJ was playing a mix of party hits from the last decades along with Christmas standards, even throwing in some slower songs. No one was paying Marcus and Esca attention.

“Not so bad, huh?” Esca asked, shifting so he was resting back against Marcus’ side.

“Pardon?” Marcus had learned long ago that if he said ‘what’ he’d get a look from his British boyfriend. Esca wasn’t a language pedant by any means, but some things the Brit in him just couldn’t let slide by.

“It’s not going so bad, right? Better than you thought?”

Marcus slid his empty hand around Esca’s waist, no doubt emboldened by the night’s events and the alcohol. “Yeah. I don’t know what I thought was going to happen really. I was just so scared. Thank you, for being with me.”

“Oh sweetheart,” Esca turned his head up, catching Marcus’ gaze, “I’d do anything for you. And since the whole point was for them to meet me, it felt like a given to show up.”

Marcus bumped their hips together, “Yeah, yeah. Still. I realized earlier I’ve been so preoccupied about bringing you tonight, I hadn’t thought of what to say to people past introducing you.”

“That’s why you have me.” Esca replied. “As much as I hate talking about bloody Harry and Meghan, it’s a small price to pay in getting to know your colleagues.”

“Just pray they’ll have something else to talk about if we get invited to dinners now.”

Esca stepped a half step back, throwing Marcus a dirty look, “Pardon? Dinners? No, Marcus, no. You’re not gonna subject me to boring company dinners now, are you?”

Marcus shrugged, looking down at his glass, a sign he was uncertain of himself. “I don’t know. I know some of the others get together with their wives sometimes. I just thought… I don’t know, maybe someone will invite us.”

Esca looked at his wonderful, caring and handsome partner. The flush on his cheeks, the hidden hope in his words, the bend of his neck as he tried to make himself small. Marcus had always tried everything to fit in and become someone his family could be proud of. He beat himself blue trying to be a good man, whatever that meant, and he rarely got the recognition he deserved for it.

As he took Marcus in, he finally had some insight at what tonight was about. It wasn’t just Marcus revealing his sexuality by bringing his male partner, it was also the hope that Marcus would be treated like everyone else that had a partner, that they’d get invited to the same dinners and, heaven forbid, country club outings.

“I’m certain they will.” Esca said eventually, bringing Marcus’ attention back to him. Marcus looked so shy and happy at the thought that Esca vowed he’d be even more entertaining and charming for the next round of conversations, even drop a hint or two that he’d love to meet people again in a more private, relaxed setting. Marcus was getting that dinner invitation no matter how many royal family members Esca had to learn obnoxious facts about.

“Does this mean we can start sharing the office at home?” Esca asked, changing the topic. “Seeing as your colleagues know about me now?”

Marcus’ face changed, quickly showing slight irritation, “No, we both have too many video calls, come on, we’ve talked about this a hundred times.”

Esca laughed at Marcus’ reaction, “Why do you get the office?”

“You get the rest of the apartment!” Marcus pointed out. “Which you abuse because you never tell me where you sit, which is why I’ve ended up passing through a number of your meetings.”

“Yes,” Esca grinned, “Tomika and Marcy still remember your topless stint fondly.”

“Asshole.”

**

As they laid in bed that night, Esca brushed his lips over Marcus’ hand. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

“I did, yeah. You?”

“You kept introducing me as your partner, over and over. I’ll never tire of hearing that. You know I’m proud to be your partner, right?” Esca turned over, curling up against Marcus’ chest. “I’m really proud of you.”

Marcus glanced away.

“Oi.” Esca stroked Marcus’ cheek. “Take the compliment.”

“I just… It’s all I ever want.” Marcus said hoarsely. “To be a man you can be proud of.”

“You’ve been that man since I first met you.” Esca brushed a kiss at Marcus’ temple. “I love you, sweetheart. Sleep tight.”

“I love you too. Good night.”


End file.
